Mango Sticky Rice

About this dish

Khao niew mamuang is a mango-season dish in Thailand, eaten only when the fruit is at its best from roughly April to June, and street vendors sell little else for those few weeks. The salt in the coconut milk is not an accident — a proper pinch keeps the whole dish from tasting flatly sweet against the mango's own sugar.

• Vegan
• Gluten-free
• Lactose-free

• 300gGlutinous rice
• 400mlFull-fat coconut milk
• 80gCaster sugar
• 3gFine sea salt
• 2largeMango
• 10gSesame seeds

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the glutinous rice in plenty of water for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

   180 min

   Tip: Skip the soak and the grains cook unevenly — hard centres under a sticky outside. This rice does not behave like ordinary rice.

2. 2

   Drain and steam the rice over simmering water until the grains are tender and translucent.

   25 min

   Tip: A steamer basket lined with muslin, not a pot of boiling water — glutinous rice turns gluey if it's actually submerged while cooking.

3. 3

   Warm the coconut milk with the sugar and salt until just dissolved, then stir half through the hot rice and reserve the rest.

   10 min

   Tip: Pour the sauce over rice that's still hot — it won't absorb nearly as well once the rice has cooled and firmed up.

4. 4

   Slice the mango and serve alongside the rice, spooned with the reserved coconut sauce and a scatter of sesame seeds.

   5 min

   Tip: Choose mango that gives slightly under your thumb — underripe fruit is sharp and fibrous against this much sweetness.